Rabbit Food?

[born2trot]

Welcome to Swaledale life. ALL the riverbanks I deal with (a few miles worth) have thriving rabbit populations, and they are THE major factor in bank erosion.

 

All plantings have to be protected which is obviously a problem when they are likely to be submerged in a raging torrent. Similar problems with coppicing the riverside trees, which is traditional on the Swale, bunnies eat buds!

 

We are surrounded by huge stone dykes also and as you say it is a safe haven for them. I can only think there must be so many of them that they are taking refuge in the riverbanks . They definetly will not like dampness so as river levels rise i would think they would disappear. Being so close to the river they would get heavily predated by mink aswell .

[corylus]

We are surrounded by huge stone dykes also and as you say it is a safe haven for them. I can only think there must be so many of them that they are taking refuge in the riverbanks . They definetly will not like dampness so as river levels rise i would think they would disappear. Being so close to the river they would get heavily predated by mink aswell .

 

They are not so much taking refuge in riverbanks as actively house hunting there. Probably to do with the fact all other grassland is heavily grazed. There is a lot more cover on the banks.

 

The recent floods did clear a fair few out but 48hrs later the riverside warrens were occupied again.

 

As for mink, very rare hereabouts thankfully. Odd otters you see!

[born2trot]

They are not so much taking refuge in riverbanks as actively house hunting there. Probably to do with the fact all other grassland is heavily grazed. There is a lot more cover on the banks.

 

The recent floods did clear a fair few out but 48hrs later the riverside warrens were occupied again.

 

As for mink, very rare hereabouts thankfully. Odd otters you see!

 

Ah ha, here in lies the problem !! Youse got rid of all the mink and party time for the riverside rabbits

[corylus]

Ah ha, here in lies the problem !! Youse got rid of all the mink and party time for the riverside rabbits

 

As well as all the other predators. Handy things gamekeepers.

 

What we really need is video evidence of rabbits eating grouse. That would solve the problem, there would hardly be a rabbit in the Dales:lol:

[born2trot]

I actually came across a mink in the stone walls i was talking about. It reminded me of a Tasmanian devil with its aggression and the noise it was making. It kept poking its head out and flashing its impressive nashers at me . My little terrier was going ballistic but i thought discretion was the better part of valour!!!

[corylus]

I actually came across a mink in the stone walls i was talking about. It reminded me of a Tasmanian devil with its aggression and the noise it was making. It kept poking its head out and flashing its impressive nashers at me . My little terrier was going ballistic but i thought discretion was the better part of valour!!!

 

What did your terrier think?

 

(As an aside, I was on a shoot on saturday when a rabbit comes running along the road towards me, persued by a stoat. My German wire-haired pointer goes after rabbit, my lab goes after stoat. Lab gets to stoat who screams and just manages to escape into hole in wall. Lab sniffs and makes to leave, at which point the rabbit, still being persued by GWP, dodges lab and enters same hole in wall as stoat. Would love to have heard their conversation:lol:)

[born2trot]

What did your terrier think?

 

(As an aside, I was on a shoot on saturday when a rabbit comes running along the road towards me, persued by a stoat. My German wire-haired pointer goes after rabbit, my lab goes after stoat. Lab gets to stoat who screams and just manages to escape into hole in wall. Lab sniffs and makes to leave, at which point the rabbit, still being persued by GWP, dodges lab and enters same hole in wall as stoat. Would love to have heard their conversation:lol:)

 

lol!! Imagine if you had that on film

That reminded of an incident many moons ago except it was a lurcher and a harris hawk after the rabbit when all of a sudden the harris dived into the undergrowth. When we got there all we could see was the back end of a stoat disappearing down the throat of the harris ! I cant remember if the lurcher got the rabbit !

Didn't take the terrier near the rocks it was hiding in , there was NO way i was putting my hand in there to pull boulders out. I've never seen such valiance and aggression from such a small animal.

[coppiceer]

Have you considered bamboo?

 

I had a lot of problems with rabbits a few years ago. As other contributors have said, they didn't like to leave anything un-munched. The only thing that they didn't touch was my bamboo.

 

If you planted one of the aggressive running varieties the rhizomes would spread very quickly and help to control soil erosion, Bamboos need plenty of moisture but most varieties do not like to be in standing water. As many varieties come from mountainous regions (Himalayas, Andes, etc) they are hardy down to around -40c when in the ground.

 

They are usually quite expensive to buy but can be propogated by simply chopping the rootball in 2, planting one half in the ground and returning the other to the container. You can do this annually each autumn for endless free plants.

 

If a bamboo is enjoying its surroundings it usually likes to go for a walk. To stop it popping up where you don't want it, you will need to place a barrier about 18" deep to contain it. I used plastic roofing sheets.

 

For specialist advice you should contact the British Bamboo Society.

 

The Bamboo Society (EBS) Great Britain

[L W Woodlands]

Not sure that the national park bods would be too keen about introducing bamboo, best to keep to native/ naturalised spp IMO.

[corylus]

Not sure that the national park bods would be too keen about introducing bamboo, best to keep to native/ naturalised spp IMO.

 

Totally agree. Snowberry seems pretty immune even with rabbits living beneath. Excellent at stopping erosion too, BUT as above.